One of the hardest things for me to adjust to after my move was the fact that in Virginia, most of the state had reopened in May. This meant that I was getting my hair done, I was getting my nails done, and I was getting massages. I quickly realized once I got to San Francisco that this wouldn’t be an option for a whileeee considering that only on 9/1 were these businesses able to open if they can operate outdoors only!

My sister was ahead of the curve and started doing her own gel manicures at home in March as soon as we were quarantined. I did not listen to her and instead (as a lifelong nail biter) let my nails grow out, picked my gel off, and bit all of my nails down to nubs. This time, I wasn’t going to let that happen! So I called her up, got some recommendations, and then went completely overboard (as I often do 🙂 ). She recommended the Beetles Gel Nail Polish Starter Kit with UV Light. I was overwhelmed at first because there were 20+ kits to choose from based on the colors that you’re looking for. I opted for the Nude Pinks collection (linked below), but there were some others that I looked at as well. I realized that there are some kits that are a bit cheaper than others (not that ~$35 on average is that expensive), so if you don’t have a strong preference, kick off your kit with one of the better-priced items and you can add on to your collection as I did. Very quickly. Like all at once haha!

The starter kit comes with a lot for your $30-35 dollars and is worth every penny. You will get 6 colors, a base coat bottle as well as two top coat bottles – shiny and matte, the UV light (which is top-notch in my opinion complete with automatic timers and shut off), and all of the manicure tools to prepare your nails before you paint. It’s a STEAL.

Here are a few links to some starter kits.

After I bought my starter kit, I went through (not kidding) probably 100 sets of colors and added all of the ones that I liked into my cart. I opened my cart to realized that I’d added over $300 worth. Even I knew this was too much, so I picked five (lolol that’s still 30 colors) that I was going to order including summer, fall, winter and spring colors. I’m being proactive here!

You can quickly and relatively cheaply continue to build on to your collection by buying additional sets of 6 colors for $13.99, but I have found several that are marked down a little cheaper or have coupons that you can apply in the cart for $1 or $2 off. You can buy an extra bottle of base and top coat as well if you need to. And of course, you can’t forget to buy a rack to show off all of your colors and perfectly curate your manicure! How adorable is this set up? I am biased, yes, I know.

All in, I spent $125 for the starter kit, 30 more colors, an extra base coat and top coat and a rack to see all of my beautiful colors. That is $1 less than I would have spent on three manicures in the salon in VA, and I’m sure CA is more expensive! You also can act like a normal human with self-control and just purchase one extra kit.

I’ve been practicing and getting better with every application. My current manicures are lasting about a week, but I also have the option to easily change colors whenever I want to since the polish is easy soak-off!

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Also, I am hosting my first gel manicure get together and invited a couple of girlfriends over to all do their nails because, not surprisingly, everyone that I know misses having their nails done in a major way! What better socially-distanced, at-home activity can you think of?!

I’ve shared some of my other favorite collections below for your viewing pleasure. Next up for me is an ombre coral and pink experiment using the Just Peachy collection below before moving to the autumn fall collection with orange and red! Wish me luck!